Going to Tiwanaku

From Puno to Bolivia (link, enlace, lien)
Tiwanaku archeological site (link, enlace, lien)

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From Puno to Bolivia is a trip that you won't forget. It's like you are in a movie. A lot of the photographs are taken from the moving bus. The pictures in the slideshow are intended to share the feeling I perceived and make you travel like we did.

The second slideshow is the archeological site of Tiwanaku. It was important within our trip in Peru to better understand the Inca Empire.

Tiwanaku is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia.

Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five hundred years. The ruins of the ancient city state are about 72 km (45 mi) west of La Paz.

From Puno to Bolivia (link, enlace, lien)

Tiwanaku archeological site (link, enlace, lien)

Suasi Island and back to Puno

Suasi Island (link, enlace, lien)

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Suasi is remote, in the northeastern extreme of Lake Titicaca, and reachable by fast lancha (motorized speedboat), which makes the trip in about 3 hours.
Isla Suasi is in the midst of Lake Titicaca, at an altitude of 3,800m (12,500 ft.).
It occupies just 43 hectares, or 106 acres, and has no automobiles, no electricity, no television – and no permanent human habitants. It is privately owned and rented to Casa Andina that manages the eco-lodge!
The island is a haven of tranquility it showed us the beauty of Titicaca.
The following morning the guide Raoul shows us the private collection of the owner, Marta, and the other side of the island.

We left around by 2:30pm had a lunch box on the boat, arrived at Puno by 5 something pm. The final pic of the day is Puno's cathedral by night!

Suasi Island (link, enlace, lien)

Going to Suasi island, Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca (link, enlace, lien)

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Again an early get up! We boarded at around 7am. What a freezing morning!

Lake Titicaca is a lake in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. By volume of water, it is the largest lake in South America.

It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world, with a surface elevation of 3,812 m (12,507 ft). At least two dozen bodies of water around the world are at higher elevations, but all are much smaller and shallower.

On the way we first stop to one of the Uros 44 artificial floating islands made of reeds (totora, a reed that abounds in the shallows of the lake). Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose.

Second stop was on Taquile Island

It is a hilly island located 45 kilometers east of Puno with an area of 5.72 km²!. It is narrow and long and was used as a prison during the Spanish Colony and into the 20th century. In 1970 it became property of the Taquile people, who have inhabited the island since then (current population around 2,200. Life on Taquile is still largely unchanged by mainland modernities. There are no cars on the island and no hotels. We were explained their way of living with a demonstration of their music and dances.
With finally arrived at Suasi Island, a little paradise in the middle of our frenetic trip thru Peru. More on it tomorrow.

Lake Titicaca (link, enlace, lien)

From Colca Canyon to Puno

Colca Cañon - Puno (link, enlace, lien)

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So hop we go, not too early though 7am. Last view over the Mitsi volcano and a first stop at Chivay market. A real one not for tourists!

Half way to Puno we change transportation and guide. A special thanks to our guide Patricia who has been a fantastic guide and Edgar our chauffeur who drives very well.

Two hours later we stopped for a picnic at 4000 meters above sea level. The soroche (altitude sickness) still strikes us a little.

Two more hours and we reached the archeological site of Sillustani, 20 kms from Puno, it 4:30pm, light is already getting low. Sillustani is a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo near Puno in Peru. The tombs, which are built above ground in tower-like structures called chullpas, are the vestiges of the Colla people, Aymara who were conquered by the Inca in the 15th century. The structures housed the remains of complete family groups, although they were probably limited to nobility. Many of the tombs have been dynamited by grave robbers, while others were left unfinished.

Just outside the archeological site we stopped to visit a house where local people live.

We arrived at Puno around 7pm and of course it was night already. An 11 hours on the road well worth it.

Colca Cañon - Puno (link, enlace, lien)

Colca Canyon

Colca Cañon (link, enlace, lien)

6:30am, already seated in the car, 6:40am first stop at the village square where some schoolboys and girls were dancing for tourists to raise money for a trip to the sea!
Today destination is Colca Canyon with final spot, Cruz del Condor, a long way to go, i.e. more than 2 hours of 80% off road.
Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru, located about 100 miles northwest of Arequipa. It is Peru's third most-visited tourist destination with about 120,000 visitors annually. It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States at 13,650 ft (4,160 m) depth. It is still inhabited by people of the Collagua and the Cabana cultures.
The canyon is home to the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus), a species that has been the focus of worldwide conservation efforts. The condors can be seen at close range as they fly past the canyon walls but still to far away for my 280mm lens! At this point the canyon floor is 3,960 feet (1,200 m) below the rim of the canyon.
Condors fly high at around 9 am when temperatures get warm but that day was cold and they were flying low. We decided to be patient and wait. 45 minutes later it finally got warmer and they started to fly higher.

Other notable bird species present in the Colca include the Giant Colibri, the largest member of the hummingbird family. I was lucky enough to capture two good shots.

Colca Cañon (link, enlace, lien)

From Arequipa to Colca Canyon with lodging at Colca Lodge.

From Arequipa to Colca Lodge part 1 (link, enlace, lien)
From Arequipa to Colca Lodge part 2 (link, enlace, lien)

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This has been a long day ride. Leaving Arequipa at the altitude of 2500 m and going through the maximum altitude of 4910 m on the way which is a lot of stress for your body! Surely you can't run :) The recipe? Just take it easy, walk very slowly, breath deeply and don't forget to drink coca leaves tea and or coca leaves sweets. 

The following photos are intended to show you the atmosphere during the ride. Most pics are taken from the mini bus windows, they may not be all as sharp as it should be.

From Arequipa to Colca Lodge part 1 (link, enlace, lien)

From Arequipa to Colca Lodge part 2 (link, enlace, lien

Santa Catalina Monastery

Monasterio de Santa Catalina (link, enlace, lien)

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The Monastery of Saint Catherine (Spanish: Santa Catalina) is a monastery of nuns of the Dominican Second Order, located in Arequipa, Peru. It was built in 1579 and was enlarged in the 17th century. The over 20,000-square-meter monastery was built predominantly in the Mudéjar style, and is characterized by its vividly painted walls.

At its height, the monastery housed approximately 450 people (about a third of them nuns and the rest servants) in a cloistered community. In the 1960s, it was struck twice by earthquakes, severely damaging the structures, and forcing the nuns to build new accommodation next door. It was then restored in stages by groups including Promociones Turisticas del Sur S.A. and World Monuments Fund and opened to the public. This also helped pay for the installation of electricity and running water, as required by law.

Monasterio de Santa Catalina (link, enlace, lien)